PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S Chabardes

Publications and source records attributed to S Chabardes.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Is there a role for physiotherapy during deep brain stimulation surgery in patients with Parkinson's disease?

In our center, a physiotherapist is present in the operative room to bring relief to the Parkinsonian patient during subthalamic nucleus stimulation surgery under local anesthesia. This study searched to determine the causes of pain and suffering during bilateral electrode implantation and to assess the role of physiotherapy. Ninety-two consecutive patients operated on between 2001 and 2004 were included in this retrospective study. A questionnaire with eight items was developed and mailed to the patients. Seventy-five responses to questionnaires were available. All patients except one experienced physical pain and psychological suffering, alleviated by physiotherapy. These preliminary results need to be confirmed in a prospective randomized study.

Antiparkinson Agents↗

Subthalamic nucleus stimulation in tremor dominant parkinsonian patients with previous thalamic surgery.

Before the introduction of high frequency stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN), many disabled tremor dominant parkinsonian patients underwent lesioning or chronic electrical stimulation of the thalamus. We studied the effects of STN stimulation in patients with previous ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) surgery whose motor state worsened. Fifteen parkinsonian patients were included in this study: nine with unilateral and two with bilateral VIM stimulation, three with unilateral thalamotomy, and one with both unilateral thalamotomy and contralateral VIM stimulation. The clinical evaluation consisted of a formal motor assessment using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and neuropsychological tests encompassing a 50 point frontal scale, the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory. The first surgical procedure was performed a mean (SD) of 8 (5) years after the onset of disease. STN implantation was carried out 10 (4) years later, and duration of follow up after beginning STN stimulation was 24 (20) months. The UPDRS motor score, tremor score, difficulties in performance of activities of daily living, and levodopa equivalent daily dose significantly decreased after STN stimulation. Neither axial symptoms nor neuropsychological status significantly worsened after the implantation of the STN electrodes. The parkinsonian motor state is greatly improved by bilateral STN stimulation even in patients with previous thalamic surgery, and STN stimulation is more effective than VIM stimulation in tremor dominant parkinsonian patients.

Adult↗

[Deep brain stimulation].

The present renewal of the surgical treatment of Parkinson's disease, almost abandoned for twenty Years, arises from two main reasons. The first is the better understanding of the functional organization of the basal ganglia. It was demonstrated in animal models of Parkinson's disease that the loss of dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra, at the origin of the striatal dopaminergic defect, induces an overactivity of the excitatory glutamatergic subthalamo-internal pallidum pathway. The decrease in this hyperactivity might lead to an improvement in the pakinsonian symptoms. The second reason is the improvement in stereotactic neurosurgery in relation with the progress in neuroimaging techniques and with intraoperative electrophysiological microrecordings and stimulations, which help determine the location of the deep brain targets. In the 1970s chronic deep brain stimulation in humans was applied to the sensory nucleus of the thalamus for the treatment of intractable pain. In 1987, Benabid and colleagues suggested high frequency stimulation of the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus in order to treat drug-resistant tremors and to avoid the adverse effects of thalamotomies. How deep brain stimulation works is not well known but it has been hypothetized that it could change the neuronal activities and thus avoid disease-related abnormal neuronal discharges. Potential candidates for deep brain stimulation are selected according to exclusion and inclusion criteria. Surgery can be applied to patients in good general and mental health, neither depressive nor demented and who are severely disabled despite all available drug therapies but still responsive to levodopa. The first session of surgery consists in the location of the target by ventriculography and/or brain MRI. The electrodes are implanted during the second session. The last session consists in the implantation of the neurostimulator. The ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus was the first target in which chronic deep brain stimulation electrodes were implanted in order to alleviate tremor. This technique can be applied bilaterally without the adverse effects of bilateral thalamotomies. Like pallidotomy, internal globus pallidum stimulation has a dramatic beneficial effect on levodopa-induced dyskinesia but its effects on the parkinsonian triad are less constant and opposite motor effects are sometimes observed in relation with the stimulated contact. The inconstant results, perhaps related to the complexity of the structure led to the development of subthalamic nucleus stimulation. The alleviation of motor fluctuations and the improvement in all motor symptoms allows a significant decrease in levodopa daily dose and in levodopa-induced dyskinesia. Presently, deep brain stimulation is a fashionable neurosurgical technique to treat Parkinson's disease. Subthalamic nucleus stimulation seems to be the most suitable target to control the parkinsonian triad and the motor fluctuations. Because of the possible adverse effects it must be reserved for disabled parkinsonian patients. No large randomized study comparing different targets and different neurosurgical techniques has been performed yet. Such studies, including cost benefit studies would be useful to assess the respective value of these different techniques.

Brain↗

Long term effects of bilateral subthalamic nucleus stimulation on cognitive function, mood, and behaviour in Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Long term effects of subthalamic nucleus (STN) stimulation on cognition, mood, and behaviour are unknown. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the cognitive, mood, and behavioural effects of bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN DBS) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) followed up for three years. METHODS: A consecutive series of 77 PD patients was assessed before, one, and three years after surgery. Mean (SD) age at surgery was 55 (8). Seven patients died or were lost for follow up. Neuropsychological assessment included a global cognitive scale, memory, and frontal tests. Depression was evaluated using the Beck depression inventory. Assessment of thought disorders and apathy was based on the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale. Reports of the behavioural changes are mainly based on interviews done by the same neuropsychologist at each follow up. RESULTS: Only two cognitive variables worsened (category fluency, total score of fluency). Age was a predictor of decline in executive functions. Depression improved whereas apathy and thought disorders worsened. Major behavioural changes were two transient aggressive impulsive episodes, one suicide, four suicide attempts, one permanent apathy, one transient severe depression, four psychoses (one permanent), and five hypomania (one permanent). CONCLUSIONS: Comparing baseline, one year, and three year postoperative assessments, STN stimulation did not lead to global cognitive deterioration. Apathy scores mildly increased. Depression scores mildly improved. Behavioural changes were comparatively rare and mostly transient. Single case reports show the major synergistic effects of both medication and stimulation on mood and behaviour, illustrating the importance of a correct postoperative management.

Aged↗

Bilateral subthalamic nucleus stimulation improves health-related quality of life in PD.

In order to assess the impact of bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) stimulation in PD on quality of life, the PD Quality of Life questionnaire was assessed in 60 consecutive patients with PD before surgery and 12 months after surgery. All aspects of quality of life, including motor (+48%), systemic (+34%), emotional (+29%), and social (+63%) dimensions, significantly improved with long-term STN stimulation.

Antiparkinson Agents↗

Dual channel deep brain stimulation system (Kinetra) for Parkinson's disease and essential tremor: a prospective multicentre open label clinical study.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a new dual channel stimulator (Kinetra) in patients with severe Parkinson's disease (PD) or essential tremor (ET). METHODS: 111 patients with PD and 18 with ET were studied. Leads were implanted into the subthalamic nucleus (STN) or internal globus pallidus of patients with the akinetic/rigid type of PD. Leads were implanted into the ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) of the thalamus or the STN in patients with the tremor dominant type of PD and in those with ET. Technical data on the device and adverse events occurring during the study were documented. Patients were assessed with established and validated clinical scales before surgery and at three and six months' follow up. RESULTS: No device failure or unexpected adverse events occurred during the study. The dual channel stimulator used in stimulation of the STN, internal globus pallidus, and VIM in PD and ET was as safe and effective as the single channel stimulators in use. Mortality, morbidity, and infections were documented in the 129 treated patients. The parameter settings were similar to those usually programmed with single channel stimulators. Time spent in the operating room to implant the Kinetra system was systematically documented. In the PD group, improvement in the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale motor score, decrease in medication OFF periods, and reduced levodopa induced dyskinesia by bilateral STN stimulation were similar to those previously reported with bilaterally applied single channel stimulators. In the ET group upper and lower limb tremor scores were reduced by VIM stimulation. Activities of daily living improved in both disease groups. CONCLUSION: The Kinetra facilitated bilateral deep brain stimulation implantation surgery and is easy to use. It offers more advantages for the patient than the single channel stimulators; consequently, this new device may be recommended to treat patients with severe PD and ET.

Brain↗

Deep brain stimulation of the corpus luysi (subthalamic nucleus) and other targets in Parkinson's disease. Extension to new indications such as dystonia and epilepsy.

Chronic high frequency (130 Hz) stimulation (HFS) of the thalamic target Vim, first used in our group in 1987 as a treatment of tremor of various origins, has been used over the last ten years in 137 patients. Since 1993, this method has been extended to two other targets (subthalamic nucleus (STN): 137 patients and the medial pallidum (GPi): 12 patients), based on recent experimental data in rats and monkeys. STN appears to be a target of major interest, able to control the three cardinal symptoms and to allow the decrease or suppression of levodopa treatment, which then also suppresses levodopa induced dyskinesias. The stereotactic technique is based on the determination of the target using ventriculography, MRI and electrophysiology, with both microrecording of single neuron activity and microstimulation inducing therapeutic symptom suppression and side effects. Chronic electrodes are then placed bilaterally at the best physiologically defined location and then connected to implantable stimulators (either 2 Itrel II or the new double channel Kinetra), operated at 130-185 Hz, 60 ms pulse width, 2.5 to 3.5 volts. There was no operative mortality and permanent morbidity was observed in 3 patients. The mechanisms of action of HFS are not fully understood, but are definitely related to high frequency and are probably different depending on the target. Inhibition of cellular activity or of neural network functions could be induced, by jamming of a retroactive loop for tremor, or by shutdown of neurotransmitter release in STN. Mechanisms within an individual target are also probably different for tremor or for other symptom alleviation. All cardinal symptoms are alleviated from tremor to akinesia and rigidity. This strong improvement allows the decrease of the drug dosage to approximately 30% of the preoperative level, which suppresses the levodopa-induced dyskinesias. The off period dystonias are also suppressed as well as freezings and falls. The effects remain stable over more than 5 years and in the same period, the off stimulation-off medication UPDRS remains stable and does not increase at the usual rate The low rate of permanent complications, the minor side effects and their immediate reversibility, the possibility of bilateral implantation in one session and the long-term persistence of symptom relief are strong arguments which support chronic HFS of STN as the method of choice when a surgical procedure is indicated for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and even more when a bilateral procedure is necessary. Recent data show that STN stimulation could be useful in the treatment of dystonia as well as some forms of epilepsy. It is therefore possible that DBS in STN as well as in other targets could become a potent therapeutic tool in the near future for neurological disorders.

Dystonia↗

Future prospects of brain stimulation.

Chronic high frequency (130 Hz) stimulation (HFS) of the thalamic target Vim has replaced thalamotomy as a treatment of tremor of various origins and was extended to two other targets (Subthalamic nucleus (STN) and the medial pallidus (GPi)), since 1993 based on recent experimental data in rats and monkeys. STN appears to be a target of major interest, able to control the three cardinal symptoms and to allow the decrease or suppression of levodopa treatment, which then suppresses also levodopa induced dyskinesias. The mechanisms of action of HFS are not fully understood, but are definitely related to high frequency and are probably different depending on the target. Inhibition of cellular activity or of network functions could be induced, by jamming of a retroactive loop for tremor, or by shutdown of neurotransmitter release in STN. All cardinal symptoms are alleviated from tremor to akinesia and rigidity. The effects remain stable over more than five years chronic HFS of STN, as the method of choice when a surgical procedure is indicated for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and even more when a bilateral procedure is necessary. Recent data show that STN stimulation could be useful in the treatment of dystonia as well as some forms of epilepsies. It is therefore possible that DAS in STN as well as in other targets could become a potent therapeutic tool in the future for neurological disorders. The future of brain stimulation will depend on new technologies (new circuits, electrodes, web based programmers), waveforms (alternatives to square waves, random distribution), targets (hypothalamic nuclei, locus coeruleus) and indications (dystonia, epilepsy, eating disorders.

Animals↗

Subthalamic stimulation for Parkinson's disease.

Deep brain stimulation by high frequency (HFS) has been developed starting in the thalamic target (Vim) from pragmatic observations and subsequently followed by other targets, such as the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and pallidum as an application of current knowledge from basic preclinical research in neuroscience. The mechanism involved by this neurosurgical approach is not completely solved. For Vim we have formed the hypothesis that HFS induces a jamming of sensory-motor loops but for the STN, from our experimental research in rats we have shown that HFS induces functional inhibition of cell activity in the target nuclei. In our patients the implantation of the stimulation electrodes was carried out stereotactically, under local anesthesia, using ventriculography, MRI, microrecordings and clinical evaluation of the effects of stimulation on rigidity. When the stimulation is turned ON in the STN area a significant decrease in rigidity was determined by the neurologists. Stimulation or even penetration of the electrode may be responsible for transient dyskinesias. The average location of the clinically efficient contact of the chronic stimulating electrodes is statistically located at 5.02 +/- 0.71 1/12 degrees of AC-PC in the AP direction, at -1.5 +/- 0.66 1/8 degrees of the height of the thalamus in the ventricle direction, with laterality at 11.98 +/- 1.12 mm in the lateral direction. The beneficial effects of STN stimulation are significant providing that the electrodes are correctly placed into the target. There is strong improvement of the symptoms of the triad in which akinesia, rigidity, and tremor are reduced on average to 41. 6, 48.6, and 27%, respectively, when compared with the previous preoperative level. From our experience, HFS of the STN could be considered the surgical therapy of choice at advanced stages of Parkinson's disease.

Electric Stimulation Therapy↗